Military Sexual Assault Attorney

There are four main categories of offenses in article 120. These include:

• Rape
• Sexual assault
• Aggravated sexual contact
• Abusive sexual contact

In the case of sexual assault and rape, according to the law, the government must prove that penetration took place. They also must prove that harm was caused. The government must prove physical harm with aggravated sexual contact as well. However, in that case, they do not need to prove that penetration took place.  For abusive sexual contact, the standards the government must meet are lower. It is basically a “catch all” for cases that don’t fall under the first three categories.

According to the UCMJ, abusive sexual contact can include any of the following forms of sexual
contact:

• Forcing someone else to touch the male or female genitalia, anus inner thigh, buttocks or breasts
• Groping
• Touching

The touching can be direct. It can be carried out using any part of the body or with an object.

The claimant must prove that the accused had the intent to degrade, abuse, humiliate or harass
them. Lastly, abusive sexual contact is different from sexual contact. This is because the contact either caused bodily harm or was carried out on someone unconscious or incapable of giving consent.

Under this standard, the threat of bodily harm with respect to abusive sexual contact does not
include threat of:

• Death
• Grievous bodily harm
• Kidnapping

These factors would evaluate the claim to aggravated sexual contact.

The punishment under UCMJ article 120 depends on the alleged offense.

Rape

• Forced forfeiture of all of your pay and allowances
• Confinement for up to a life sentence without the possibility of parole

A rape conviction comes with a mandatory minimum sentence:

• Dismissal or dishonorable discharge

Sexual Assault

• Forfeiture of all pay and allowances
• Confinement for up to 30 years

The mandatory minimum sentence for sexual assault includes

• Dismissal or dishonorable discharge

Aggravated Sexual Assault

• Dishonorable discharge
• Forfeiture of all pay and allowances
• Confinement for up to 20 years

Abusive Sexual Contact

• Dishonorable discharge
• Forfeiture of all pay and allowances
• Confinement for up to 7 years

• Prove that you are innocent.

  • The most effective defense against false allegations is simple: show that you are truly innocent. If you have a strong alibi, you can demonstrate that there is no possible way that you could have committed the crime.

• Find evidence of a wrongful accusation.

  • Unfortunately, some sexual assault allegations are false. Sometimes people make false accusations in order to take revenge or hurt an enemy.

• Prove that there was consent.

  • If you can prove that the accuser gave consent, this can negate the charges. In order to be convicted, the contact must have occurred without the consent of the victim

• Demonstrate a lack of evidence.

  • These types of cases are difficult to prosecute. Why? Because evidence is often lacking. Many times these cases are brought with mere hearsay and no physical evidence.

There are eight different criminal offenses under article 120. This is staggering. Each of these offenses has several elements including stalking (120a), rape and sexual assault of a child (120b) and “other sexual misconduct.” This is an extremely broad term that could mean just about anything according to a prosecutor and accuser.

Do not be intimidated by all of the complex parts of UCMJ article 120. Aden Wilkie is an experienced, aggressive military defense attorney. He knows these laws well and has successfully defended many clients against bogus charges under the UCMJ. In order to prepare for your trial, he will meticulously go through the alleged events and your alibi. He will prepare the following:

• Forensic Evidence

  • We will verify if the prosecution has DNA evidence or any other type of forensic evidence. Does it put you at the scene of the crime?
  • Do not forget: just because prosecutors might have told you that they have evidence against you, does not mean that they will be able to convict you. We can hire our own DNA expert. This will help us question the government’s DNA evidence.
  • Sometimes, we can have DNA evidence suppressed before it ever shows up in your trial.
  • “Touch” DNA can be present for all sorts of reasons such as shared living space, article of clothing worn by multiple parties, transfer of DNA on things like doors, tables and other commonly used household items. This becomes increasing the case where the accuser might be living in the same house or living space.
• Preparing Witnesses
  • Many cases take on the form of the classic “he said, she said.” In this case, the victim’s words and the defendant’s words are pitted against each other.
  • If this is the case, we can cross examine the victim. This will identify possible holes in his or her story.
  • We can call character witnesses. These are people that can defend your reputation.
  • We will hire expert medical witnesses if necessary. They will be able to counter forensic evidence that prosecutors might have against you.

• Sentence Reduction

  • Many of these cases lead to government overreach. You should not be a victim of emotional, reactive legal action.
  • In the military, more so than in state or federal court the prosecutors take cases to trial that would otherwise be dismissed outright or refuse to prosecute due to lack of requisite evidence and likelihood of an acquittal. And this decision is due to no only overreach of the prosecutors, but concerns by the Convening Authorities that a failure to refer such allegations to the court system could be seen as being soft on sexual assault allegations and become a topic of conversation between them or their bosses with certain elected officials.
  • If the prosecutor is trying to turn you into a scapegoat, you need the right type of defender. Having a good military defense attorney could mean the difference between an administrative discharge and time in prison.